Today’s Gospel picks up right where we left off last Sunday. Peter has just proclaimed Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus calls him blessed and names him the rock upon which he will build his Church.
It is a soaring moment. And then everything comes crashing down.
Jesus tells his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, suffer greatly, be killed, and on the third day be raised. Peter cannot accept this. He takes Jesus aside and rebukes him: “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”
And Jesus responds to the man he has just called the rock: “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.”
What happened?
Jesus tells us: “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
Peter knows who Jesus is. But he does not yet understand what following Jesus will mean.
He can imagine the glory. He cannot yet imagine the Cross.
Perhaps neither can we.
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”
The Cross is not something we naturally seek. Jeremiah certainly didn’t. In today’s First Reading, the prophet cries out to God: “You duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be duped!”
I love the raw honesty of that passage. Jeremiah sounds almost as if he is shaking his fist at heaven. Following God has brought him ridicule and suffering, and he has had enough. He decides he will no longer speak God’s name.
But he cannot stop. “Then it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones.”
There is the mystery of discipleship. Jeremiah struggles against God and still discovers God burning within him. Peter resists the Cross and will eventually give his life for Christ. Following Jesus is a lifetime of learning to surrender our expectations and allow God to transform us.
That is why Paul’s words in today’s Second Reading bring all these strands together:
“Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God.”
Be transformed.
Peter must be transformed. Jeremiah must be transformed. So must we.
Jesus does not promise that discipleship will lead us away from the Cross. He invites us to discover that somewhere within our crosses – within sacrifice, surrender, disappointment, love, and the daily giving of ourselves – we may begin to see differently.
Not merely as human beings see.
But as God sees.
And perhaps that is what it means to lose our lives for the sake of Christ:
to discover, little by little, the life that God has been inviting us to find.
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Entrance Antiphon Have Mercy on Me, O Lord for I Cry to You (Steve Angrisano, Sarah Hart and Curtis Stephan)
Let Us All Rejoice #163
Taken from Psalm 86, this Entrance Antiphon is a plea for God’s mercy.
Entrance Chant Take Up Your Cross (Jaime Cortez)
Breaking Bread #711
This anthem by Jaime Cortez underscores Jesus’ message in today’s Gospel.
Responsorial Psalm My Soul Is Thirsting for You, O Lord My God (Curtis Stephan)
Spirit & Psalm 2026: p. 288
Curtis Stephan’s verbatim setting of Psalm 63 captures the fire of Jeremiah’s desire for God in the First Reading.
Gospel Acclamation Alleluia: Mass of Restoration (Josh Blakesley and Leland G. “Grae” McCullough, IV)
Spirit & Psalm 2026: p. 290
The acclamation verse expresses the call to transformation of heart in the Gospel.
Presentation and Preparation of the Gifts Here I Am to Worship (Tim Hughes)
Spirit & Song #309; Never Too Young #93
“Here I Am to Worship” is a song of praise to Jesus and his ultimate sacrifice on the Cross.
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Communion Antiphon Blessed Are the Peacemakers [Option 2] (Steve Angrisano, Sarah Hart and Curtis Stephan)
Let Us All Rejoice #165
Antiphon Option 2 from Matthew’s Beatitudes encourages us in our discipleship, despite persecution and hardship.
Communion Chant I Will Choose Christ (Tom Booth)
Spirit & Song #220; Never Too Young #261; Breaking Bread #514
Tom Booth’s ballad is a call to discipleship in Christ. Be sure to sing Verse 3 for its reference to today’s Gospel message: “As I look upon your Cross, so too must I die with you.”
Sending Forth Just Like You (Matt Maher)
Spirit & Song #322; Never Too Young #100
Notice how the Pre-Chorus of Matt’s spirited song echoes Jeremiah’s acceptance of God’s call: “Like a burning fire, be my one desire.”
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